INGREDIENTS

• grape leaves (fresh or salted) 40—50 pieces;
• water or meat broth (lamb, beef or chicken) for cooking dolma — 500 ml. (perhaps a little more or less).

For the minced meat

• minced meat (lamb; lamb + beef or pork + beef) 500—600 g.;
• round-grain rice (for example "Arborio") 4—6 tbsp.;
• onion (medium or large) 4—5 pcs.;
• greens of basil, mint, dill, cilantro;
• butter 50—70 g.;
• vegetable oil 50—70 ml.;
• zira (ground or pounded in a mortar) — a pinch;
• freshly ground black pepper;
• salt.

For the sauce

• sour cream, natural yogurt or matsoni - 1 cup;
• garlic 4—6 cloves;
• greens of basil, cilantro, dill or parsley;
• salt.

METHOD

1. Rinse fresh or salted grape leaves well. Fresh grape leaves are best taken young, the size of a palm (the leaves are harvested in spring). The darker the leaves, the older they are. For dolma, only leaves of light, white grape varieties are used. Old and very large grape leaves are best not to use. In this case, it is better to take salted leaves, which can be prepared for future use during the season, or purchased at the market or in a supermarket (rolled up in jars). Grape leaves put in a bowl, pour boiling water and soak for about 5—7 minutes. Throw the leaves in a colander and let the water drain. Drain the water, shake off excess water from the leaves. Remove petioles from each leaf.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion. In a frying pan, heat the butter with vegetable oil, put the onion, salt and fry over low heat until soft.
   
   
3. Rinse rice. Put in a saucepan, pour water (1 part rice 2 parts water), put on fire, bring to a boil and cook for 2—3 minutes from the moment of boiling. Drain the rice in a colander.
   
   
4. Wash greens and finely chop. Put the minced meat in a bowl, add the fried onion, boiled rice, chopped herbs, a pinch of zira, salt and pepper to it. Traditionally, minced meat for dolma is prepared from lamb, but if desired, beef can be added to lamb. Also, at your request, minced meat can be prepared from pork with beef. Mix the mince well with your hands.
   
   
5. Lay the grape leaves on the table with the smooth side down and the distinct veins up. Put a little stuffing in the middle of each sheet. First, close the stuffing by bending the top edges of the sheet. Then close the filling with the sides of the sheet. And, finally, roll up a tight tube, like a cabbage roll. In the same way, prepare the remaining dolma.
   
   
6. Put 1—2 layers of grape leaves on the bottom of a thick-bottomed pan (substandard, torn leaves are suitable for this purpose). Lay the dolmushki close to each other, seam down (can be laid out in several layers). Pour broth or water flush with dolma. If necessary, salt the water or broth a little, cover the dish, and put a load on top so that the dolma does not unfold during the boil. Put the pot with dolma on the fire, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a minimum. Cook for 1—1.5 hours with a barely noticeable boil. Remove the finished dolma from the heat and let it brew for about 10 minutes (during this time the broth will be absorbed into the dolma, and it will become even juicier and tastier).

Sauce

Wash greens, dry and chop. Peel the garlic and finely chop. Combine sour cream with garlic and herbs, salt to taste, and mix. Chill the sauce well in the refrigerator for 2—4 hours. Serve hot dolma with sauce.